You Should Know

You Should Know

How Serious Is the North Korea Nuclear Threat?

Last week, North Korea launched its largest and most powerful missileyet, the Hwasong-15. Here’s what you should know about the North Korean nuclear threat and the consequences of a preemptive strike by the United States.

How Serious Is the North Korea Nuclear Threat?

North Korea launched its largest and most powerful missileyet, the Hwasong-15, on November 29. Here’s what you should know about the North Korean nuclear threat and the consequences of a preemptive strike by the United States.

North Korea has conducted six tests of nuclear weapons since 2006. The most recent occurred in September 2017. Each test has been bigger than the last, based on seismic activity detected in surrounding countries.

North Korea has roughly8,000 artillery piecestrained on Seoul, a city of 25 million when counting its immediate surrounding areas.Estimatessuggest there could be as many as 300,000 South Korean casualties in the opening days of a conflict.

Japan also is in range of North Korea’s missiles. A strike on Tokyo, which North Korea has suggested as a possibility, would add an additional untold number of casualties in a city of over nine million.

Yet, it is unlikely that North Korea would launch an unprovoked nuclear attack on the United States or its allies.

North Korea does pose a threat to the United States, but it is not anexistential threat. Just as the United States has successfully deterred other threats, itcan do the samewith North Korea while providing security for its allies.

To learn more about how the United States is dealing with a North Korean threat that is here to stay:

To learn more about how the United States is dealing with a North Korean threat that is here to stay: